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A CONDITION OF OUR PAROLE - (REVIEW)

Winnipeg Fringe Festival 2000
Planetarium Venue, to July 29
By TOM HENIHAN , WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

July 24, 2000

(4 out of 5 STARS )

A Condition of our Parole is a rapid-fire hour of hilarious song and sketch comedy performed by The Cowards, a two-man crew from Toronto. The Cowards formed in 1997 when classically trained actor Mark J. Richardson and improv performer Dave Pearce joined forces to create their refreshing, multi-faceted brand of absurdist humour.

Pearce and Richardson, who are very different in physical appearance, singing style and comedic nuance, complement each other's attributes in a manner reminiscent of some of the best Vaudeville acts.

Sketches such as Haiku man, where a sublime expert on Japanese verse is confronted by the resurrected presence of Dylan Thomas, or the Bachman Turner Overdrive bit, where two hosers get their signals crossed between J. S. Bach and the rock band, prove they can create contemporary material without making facile references to Entertainment Television or last week's People magazine.

Though I felt at times that some of the sketches could have been more realized, this may have been at the cost of a quick-paced, infectious, high-energy performance that seemed to make the hour go by all too fleetingly.